Jason Beer

Dr. Matthew Shadle

Social Justice
4/9/13
Mother Teresa and the Catholic Worldview
Agnes Gonxha was once simply the faithful little daughter of Nikola and
Dranafile Gonxha. Agnes would later become a nun by the name of Mother
Teresa but she did much more than this. Some would even say she changed
the world one person at a time. Mother Teresas work was an amazing
reflection of the catholic worldview.
The first element of the catholic worldview is sacramentality.
Sacramentality is something that Mother Teresa truly believed. She knew
that God is present in the world. Mother Teresa said, God is everywhere and
in everything and without Him we cannot exist. I have never for one moment
doubted the existence of God but I know some people do (SP 43). She knew
that God was present in the world but she also knew that sacramentality is
even more than that.
Mother Teresa knew that God was in each and every person regardless
of religion. God is not separate from the Church as He is everywhere and in
everything and we are all His childrenHindu, Muslim, or Christian (SP 59).
Without this belief Mother Teresa would not have been able to do almost any
of the work that she did. Her belief in sacramentality, and more specifically
each person being a child of God, allowed her to reach out to people of all
religions. This was not the only part of sacramentality that motivated Mother
Teresa.
It is obvious that Mother Teresa believed in the power of loving and
caring for others but why? She said, Whenever you share love with others,

youll notice the peace that comes to you and to them. When there is peace,
there is Godthat is how God touches our lives and shows His love for us by
pouring peace and joy into our hearts (SP 171). This seems to be another
example of sacramentality in the ideals of Mother Teresa. Where there is
peace, there is God is another example that shows Mother Teresa believed
in Gods presence on earth.
The second element of the catholic worldview is mediation. Mother
Teresa saw this first hand. When she decided to start her charity work she
said, The message was quite clear: I was to leave the convent and help the
poor while living among them (MT 27). God interceded in her life and
therefore she understands mediation first hand. She felt Gods mediation
helped her in another way as well.
Mother Teresa found a sense of safety and was not afraid thanks to
Gods mediation. I am never afraid. I am doing my work with Jesus, Im
doing it for Jesus, Im doing it to Jesus, and therefore the results are His, not
mine. You have to surrender to Him and rely on Him completely (SP 44). It
seems she truly believed God was working through her and for this reason
she should have no fear. Mother Teresas faith in mediation also kept her
from worry in her work. She said, we dont accept even one rupee for the
work we do, as we do our work for Jesus. He looks after us. If He wants
something done, He gives us the means. If He doesnt provide us with the
means, then He doesnt want the work done (SP 46). This means that he not
only provides for them but mediates by guiding them as to what work needs

to be done. Mother Teresas lifestyle was that of great faith in Gods

mediation.
The third element of the catholic worldview is communion. Mother
Teresas actions showed her belief in the importance of this portion of the
catholic worldview. A good example is when she left the convent to start her
new mission of helping the poorest of the poor. Leaving the convent was not
easy for Mother Teresa. It was, she admitted years later, the most difficult
thing she had ever done, even harder than leaving her family and homeland
(MT 30). Her belief in the important of communion and the friendships she
had made there made it very hard to leave. Mother Teresa new the
importance of being part of a community of faithful people and God.
Communion was so important to her that she helped foster it herself when
she was to start a new congregation or order of nuns, who would work for
the poor in the slumsSpecial attention, too, was to be focused on those
people who had no family or were unwanted in any way (MT 30). This meant
two things: first of all she believed that a community of believers was
important to her so she formed one herself. Secondly, she believed that
being one with other believer and God was so important that she tried to
bring that sense of community to the people that had no family or were
unwanted therefore making them part of a community. Her thoughts on the
church also show her belief in the importance of communion.
Mother Teresa coming together made everyone better. She said,
When we gather in his name this gives us strength. The church gives us our
priests, the Mass, and the Sacraments, which we need in our daily lives to do

our work (SP 59). One could conclude that this means Mother Teresa could
not have done her work without gathering in his name with others. This is
a huge part of how she went about her work.
Mother Teresas work was an amazing reflection of the catholic
worldview. Sacamentality allowed her to see God in everyone and help the
poorest of the poor regardless of their religion. Mediation led her in the right
direction so that eventually she was able to begin helping these people.
Lastly, communion gave her what she needed to do her work and motivated
her to help others have a sense of belonging. Without her belief in the
importance of the catholic worldview we may have never heard of Mother
Teresa and more importantly she may not have helped the thousands of
people she did.